Many notable figures in history suffered in the same manner as a multitude of modern day asthmatics and allergy sufferers. It has been documented that Julius Caesar and Seneca were afflicted with asthma. Britannicus (Nero’s half-brother and the rightful heir) was severely allergic to horse dander, so that when he mounted his horse for royal processions, his eyes would swell closed and he would have a hard time finding his way on the parade route.

 

Food allergies and anaphylactic tendencies also plagued the ancient world. Menes (c. 3100-3000, BC), the first true Pharaoh of Egypt, was said to have died after being stung by a wasp—this was the first recorded occurrence of anaphylactic shock. Richard the III (1452-1485) was allergic to strawberries, and in order to legitimize the murder of his ex-best friend, Lord William Hastings (1431-1483), Richard secretly snacked on the berries prior to a formal meeting with Hastings. The typical burning discomfort, hives and swelling that is characteristic of food allergies was claimed by Richard to be a curse placed on him by Hastings, and as a result Lord William fell victim to the misunderstood symptoms of allergies.

Throughout the following years, some doctors would recognize the correspondence between allergic symptoms and plants or cats, but their treatment left something to be desired. Patients were often bled or given questionable medicines to combat allergies and asthma. As the centuries past, allergies were seen as a disease of the upper classes until the 1800’s, when the understanding of asthma and allergies began growing in leaps and bounds.

1869: Charles Blackley performed the first allergy test on himself, by putting pollen directly into a cut in his skin.

 

1902: The word “anaphylaxis” was first coined by Charles Richet and Paul Portier, when in the midst of immunization research, they witnessed this deadly response to foreign matter (such as medicines and other protein substances). 

 

1906: Clemens von Pirquet created a new word to describe the non-disease symptoms exhibited by diphtheria patients when they were serum containing horse proteins. This word was “allergy”.

 

 

1911-1914: The groundwork for modern-day immunotherapy (allergy shots) was developed by Leonard Noon and John Freeman. Immunotherapy consists of introducing small amounts of allergen into the body (through shots) and gradually increasing the amount until the body is no longer sensitive.

 

1937: Daniel Bovet developed the first synthesized antihistamine.

 

 

1948: Corticosteroids were discovered by Philip Hench and Edward Kendall and used in the treatment of asthma.   Drugs with corticosteroids are still used today for asthma as well as the immediate and delayed reactions from allergies.

 

1953: James F. Riley and Geoffrey B. West discovered the mast cell and found its tie to allergies as a major source of histamine. Apparently, their research was successful because of a ten-year-old cocker spaniel named Judy. The dog had a mast cell tumor and gave the researchers the highest histamine content ever recorded.

 

 

1967: The role of IgE Class Antibodies was first indentified by Kimishige and Teruko Ishizaka. IgE is one of the elements that come into play when a person first develops allergic sensitivity.

 

 

1980: Professor Bengt I Sameulsson received the Nobel Prize for his research on leukotrienes—this greatly increased the understanding of how the body’s own “mediators” in asthma, allergies and inflammation.

 

 

In over a century in a half, the understanding of atopic diseases has progressed from mysterious, seemingly erratic disease to a carefully conducted mechanism.  For more information on this topic, visit Wellcome Trust's (an independant charity that fund research for improvements in human and animal health) webpage.